The Woodward Gallery is proud to announce the new solo exhibition of Margaret Morrison, Paradigm shift, on view at Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens, Georgia through September 1. In this narrative series of 10 large oil paintings, the artist aims to investigate Caravaggio’s use of theatrical light by depicting the stages of faith-based spiritual enlightenment, from awakening to transcendence. She was represented by Woodward Gallery since 1995.
In 2017, Professor Margaret Morrison offered a Faculty Research Fellowship at the Willson Center at the University of Georgia (UGA) for the project “Contemporary Examination of Caravaggio’s Dramatic Staging and Lighting – A Collaboration between painting and theatre. She worked with Professor Anthony Marotta of UGA’s Department of Theater and Film Studies to explore various methods of stage choreography with the goal of photographing and collecting reference footage. She created a script for UGA theater students that culminated in a stage performance directed by Marotta and documented by photographer Gabrielle Rosenthal. The collaboration provided Morrison with reference material for Paradigm shiftthrough which she reflects on enlightenment and her personal experiences with faith and spirituality.
“As a fifth-generation Mormon,” Morrison recalls, “I grew up with the uplifting stories of my ancestors who left everything behind to build a new Zion in the wilderness of the American West. This faithful account of the founding of Mormonism was spotless, spiritually uplifting, and literally part of my DNA. If an aspect of our history or our practice gave me consternation, I placed it on my metaphorical shelf to be dealt with later.
“In the early 2000s,” says Morrison, “a huge treasure trove of historical documents, letters, and journals from Mormon history flooded the Internet. The Church could no longer be the gatekeeper, holding back the unsavory and salacious moments in its history. As I voraciously read everything I could get my hands on, it became apparent that the tidy “faithful narrative” I had been raised to believe did not exist…I was thrust into the experience the most painful of my life and it was physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting.
“Slowly, very slowly, I began to move away from my anger and disillusionment and into a new paradigm…I turned inward and rekindled a deeper, more personal spirituality. I sifted through the ruins of my religious tradition and found the pieces that resonated with me. As I rebuilt, I began to experience deeper spiritual connections, a true sense of transcendence in my search for the Divine.
“My Paradigm shift The series stems from the devastating sense of loss I felt when my belief in the “faith-promoting” history of Mormonism imploded, forcing me to build an infinitely deeper new spiritual foundation. The narrative of each painting traces the arc of my journey from being a naive believer, through cataclysmic destruction and terrible sadness, to finally arriving at the recovery of my inner peace and a closer connection with God.
by Margaret Morrison Paradigm shift At Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens, Georgia, is free and open to the public until September 1. A special event for artists will take place on August 24 at 6 p.m.
For more information, visit woodwardgallery.net.
